Diablo III Patch 1.0.3a Notes and Maintenance

Similar to all previous weeks, tomorrow will bring with it maintenance time and a few patch notes. There’s nothing big here as the turn-around is quite fast since the semi-major fixes came last week. Patch 1.0.4 is promised to have more class balancing, so until then we’re likely to see small tweaks and fixes.

We will be performing scheduled maintenance for Diablo III starting tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. PDT in order to deploy patch 1.0.3a. We anticipate that maintenance will conclude and that all services will be available by approximately 7:00 a.m. PDT. Patch notes are available below.

The latest client patch notes can be found here.
Visit our Bug Report forum for a list of known issues.
The most recent hotfixes can be found here.

Classes

Witch Doctor

Bug Fixes

Zombie Charger

Skill Rune – Zombie Bears

Fixed a bug where Zombie Bears were unable to attack targets on slopes

Zombie Bears should no longer become stuck on objects with which they shouldn’t have collision

ItemsGeneral

Equipped items will now take “wear-and-tear” durability damage at half the previous rate

Please note that durability loss as the result of normal combat is different from the 10% durability loss characters will incur when they die. Equipped items have always suffered durability loss while fighting, and we are simply slowing the rate at which the loss occurs.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug that was causing Unique monsters to not drop the appropriate amount of loot when slain

Fixed a bug with linking items with 3 gem sockets

It is no longer possible to create fake achievement links

Bug FixesGeneral

Fixed a bug that was causing the “Switch Hero” button to occasionally disappear after leaving a game while in town

Fixed several gold and leveling exploits

Fixed several game and service crashes (for Mac and PC)

Related blue posts past the fold.

Drop rate changes won’t be making this patch, and both Lylirra and Bashiok have sited the quick turn-around as for these updates as the source. After admitting that drop rates were reduced in later acts to compensate for the new bands that came with 1.0.3, many began to question the change. We’re more likely to see the adjustment in 1.0.3b.

Patches have a longer development and testing process than I believe many expect them to. For instance, 1.0.3a was already in development before 1.0.3 was released, and some ‘room’ on it (which really means time for development, implementation, testing and localization) was left for any extreme bug fixes should they crop up very shortly after 1.0.3’s release. It’s more efficient to not wait for a patch to launch before starting work on the next one. Changing item drop rates was something that took some time to discuss and decide how we were going to address it, and thus it wasn’t something we could make in time for tomorrow’s patch.

We know drop rates are one of the main changes you guys are looking for, and we’re working to get it into the game as soon as possible. It doesn’t mean we chose the changes for 1.0.3a over drop rate changes, it’s just a matter of timing and them lining up with the next release.

Didn’t make the cut in terms of priority. The bug fixes here are for a specific, widely-used skill, actions that apply across the whole game (loot drops from uniques, durability loss), a UI fix and gameplay exploits.

@RisingRed and that would prove what exactly? I’m not saying it’s fair. I’m just saying that it makes sense that it is low priority. I get that it’s pissing you off because you are personally inconvenienced but it doesn’t mean it’s a pressing matter for the community as a whole.

Also I don’t feel like leveling another DH up to hell, thank you very much.

It doesn’t matter to me because I avoid Act IV like the plague because it’s awful, even without this bug.
But to argue that one skill rune for one individual skill takes precedence over 25% of the game’s content is just asinine at best.

Except it’s not 25% of the content that is affected since normal and nightmare are not all that hard. You can argue for hell mode, but it’s not as bad as you make it sound, and a few vit gems will make the game easy again. I finished hell with my younger brother recently with my WD and we didn’t have (many) problems. Izual was annoying but that was it. And we weren’t twinking, just using and sharing the drops we have found along the way. The only moment I used the AH was when I bought a weapon in Hell act 1 (or 2? I’m not sure).
So in the end, it’s not really 25%. And I hope they could keep it that way in normal/nightmare, it’s a little bit more fun.

I’m actually really glad to hear that. My demon hunter has made it as far as Act 4 Hell (my farthest character) and run through it several times, looking for better gear to get past Diablo and into Inferno (I don’t use the AH). I thought maybe I just sucked that badly, since the Oppressors one shot my 34k health almost every time they charge me. I’m actually really glad to hear it is a bug. In the meantime, I retreated back to Act 3, where I rarely die.

They are. Without WotB some Inferno Frozen packs are actually impossible for Barbs (that aren’t ludicrously over geared) due to being frozen in place for literally 10+ seconds as the orbs explode over and over again. Happened to me twice in Act 1 Inferno as I was getting NV stacks in the cemetery crypts.

I am not dreaming then.
I am certain that Nightmarish is cast more often (I also read that in a blue I think).
It is easier to spot some affixes but in my opinion (I did not measure it before, so I have no proof unfortunately) are cast more often than before.
Without a bubble skill you’re toast (in fact you are anyway but well…)

bashiok: “The drop rates in 1.0.3 are exactly as they’re listed in the 1.0.3 design preview blog, so there were no issues as far as validity/accuracy of the changes. Obviously a reduction in drop rates later on in favor or increased drop rates earlier on (and overall more high end items circulating in the economy) wasn’t very popular. We agree it was a bad change, so we’ll be correcting it, but it wasn’t a quick enough change to get into 1.0.3a.”

If they hadn’t provided access to higher ilvl drops in Inferno Act I then people would be complaining that they are forced to use the AH and can’t farm their own items (can’t progress, Blizz is a greedy corporate money machine making cash off RMAH blah blah blah).

If they hadn’t lowered drop rates in later acts then people would be complaining that the market is flooded with high ilvl items (prices are coming down, it’s cheaper to just buy off the AH rather than farm your own items, etc etc).

Their solution isn’t perfect but they had greater consequences to consider. They have to proceed cautiously or risk breaking the economy. Given time they will work this out so everybody is happy (fingers crossed).

I kind of agree with both of you. Yes, we should absolutely be able to farm our own gear. Yes months of grinding is acceptable… BUT only for the BIS gear. Shouldn’t have to farm for months to find gear that simply makes the game playable.

Blizzard… WTF… no part of your dev blog regarding introducing/increasing drop rates of higher iLvl items earlier in the game said one damn thing about intentionally nerfing the drops in Act 3/4 Inferno. Then when we notice the unmentioned, intentional nerf, you act like you don’t know WTF is going on and say you will investigate…. and then follow up with this BS… saying “working as intended… we nerfed act 3/4 drops to introduce higher-end items sooner”… give me a break.

I’m not sure if this helps you, but today after leaving the game I started getting “error switching characters” or something like that, which also prevented me from logging to Bnet. I waited for ~10 minutes and it went away.

I like these patch notes, I figured there was some issue with the Unique monsters because I killed a bunch and got nothing, maybe a few gold piles sometimes. So the only thing I’d like back is the chance for items from destructibles, well I should clarify all destructibles including barrels. Seems some items that can be destroyed are not considered “destructibles” lol (skull piles, sarcophagus, coffin, wooden crate I have recieved at least a grey from each)

I believe “breakables” refered to “things that wont light up and show a name when you hover your mouse on them”, such as vases, parapects and tables. They specifically wrote the “right-clickable” ones would no longer check your MF when rolling for item quality.

I can tell a difference in the amount of decent, high vitality/intelligence weapons on the AH. The only thing I have paid actual money for was a 875 DPS, 271 vitality/225 intelligence, 1400 life on kill 1 hand sword. I paid all of 10 bucks for it.

Try to find something like that now. There wasn’t anything on there last night at a decent price, which the people that “buy low and sell high” like to nab before anybody can get a deal. I am just not seeing the weapons I was a week ago. The reason I put money on my account was for a 970 DPS sword with higher stats than what I mentioned previously. It was socketed also. I was not aware of the 1-3 day waiting period for money to clear, so I missed out on a 15$ steal.

If I had 5-10 million gold I might be able to find something like that, but I don’t. I haven’t found shit for weapons so far, most everything else I have found myself thanks to the improved item level drops in Inferno level 1. I sure hope they leave at least the 2% chance of item level 63 loot to drop in Act 1.